| Title | : | Himalaya |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0312341628 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780312341626 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 288 |
| Publication | : | First published September 27, 2004 |
Himalaya Reviews
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I discovered Michael Palin and his books by accident.As British shows do not air in Pakistan,I wasn't familiar with him.
But as I was searching for books on Pakistan on a local online bookseller's website,this book was the first to pop up.On impulse,I bought it and was pleasantly surprised.Eversince then,he has been among my favourite writers.
This is a travelogue and a TV mini series about several South Asian countries,but I was most interested in the chapters on Pakistan.
His trip to Concordia in the Himalayas,where several of the world's highest mountains peaks can be seen together was particularly interesting.This dangerous aerial trip is not for the faint of heart,and he needed the help of Pakistan army aviation to get there.
Palin's travels do include official help from his host countries.He also travels with a crew.In that respect,he is different from travellers like Paul Theroux,who travel pretty much on their own.In one of his books,Theroux even takes a dig at Palin about this.
In Pakistan,he also travels through some very challenging routes including the Karokoram Highway and the Kailash valleys,where primitive tribes have lived for centuries,isolated from the rest of the world.But in recent decades,there has been increasing contact with the outside world.
I was also interested to read Palin's impressions of Pakistan's capital,Islamabad,and his trip to the famous Grand Trunk Road.A local rural landlord becomes his host and treats him to some equestrian sport.Reminded me of my village in the Punjab.
Other countries visited include India,Nepal,Tibet,China,Bhutan and Bangladesh.He meets the
Dalai Lama,the King of Nepal and Imran Khan (who is Pakistan's Prime Minister now,but was a struggling politician then).
This series of journeys is pretty challenging,with little creature comforts and primitive accommodation,but Palin maintains his good humour,even when he falls sick at high altitudes in the Himalayas.
An entertaining travelogue,whetted my appetite for more of his books and TV series.Found many more of them and enjoyed them too. -
I was introduced to the travel adventures of 'Michael Palin' in 2006 when a friend presented me with the DVD's of 'Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days' and 'Himalaya with Michael Palin'. Both these travel shows were immensely enjoyable and Michael Palin as an engaging travel show host was simply great with much information on local wisdom while always keeping things light with right amount of humor. This left me with a need to catch up with more works from Michael Palin, and I discovered the books that he wrote as companion volumes for his various TV shows.
'Himalaya' was the first book by Michael Palin that I read and it was a really wonderful experience. The writing is crisp and like the TV documentary the beauty and adventure of such a breathtaking journey across the whole of the mighty Himalayas is nicely captured by Michael Palin in this book with his eye for detail and witty anecdotes. The recounting of this journey, which is presented in a day-by-day journal form, is spiced up with a selection of amazing photographs by Basil Pao, which adds to the appeal of the book.
The journey, which starts from the Khyber Pass, goes through some of the geographically most tough and politically most volatile terrain. The author and his television crew cover about 3000 miles through 6 countries in a total time span of about six months and braves through thrilling and sometimes dangerous situations and experiences. Michael Palin describes his encounter with life in the high altitudes, civilizations from ancient times, vibrant and colorful natural and human life that he finds throughout the journey, life threatening situations and illness that plagues his team all with minute detail.
Throughout the book the author presents a highly informative travel narrative with a rightly balanced amount of personal observations, excerpts of engaging dialogs, historical facts and geographical descriptions mixed with a very refreshing dosage of mischievous humor. I will recommend the ‘Himalaya’ to any one who loves an adventure filled travel narrative. The diary format of the book makes it a candidate for fast and easy reading.
For those who enjoyed the ‘Himalaya’, the coffee-table book titled ‘Inside Himalaya’ by Basil Pao - who was the stills photographer and traveling companion of Michael Palin during the journey – will be a nice recommendation. It is a stunning collection of fine photography capturing local people, their daily life, beautiful landscapes and majestic mountainous scenery in some cases presented as impressive two-page spreads. -
One of my personal treasure; bought at New Delhi airport at the last leg of my himalayan adventure. I've never heard of Michael Palin before, but upon looking at the beautiful photographs in the book (taken by the famed Basil Pao who went with Michael almost anywhere BBC sent him to) and Michael's no-nonsense account of his journey across the Himalayan countries, I was hooked.
I did get to visit some places Michael described in the book, but where I went, he went further. While I didn't get to visit Tibet, I went to Chinese' part of Sichuan Province where some of the indigenous Tibetan tribes still preserve their old culture (they call that part of the country North Tibet.)
Michael went to Nepal as well.
There's a picture of him in the Pashupatinath Temple where burial pyres are still used for cremation. Sometimes you get to appreciate your own adventure after reading others - sort of like a 'me too!' feeling being sent telepathically to the other. Still, I wish I've had the time and fund to visit the real Himalaya like Michael did, after all, he got to visit the '-Stans' (Pakistan, Afghanistan) and interacted with the brave people of the land. He got to ride elephants and observed the change of guards at the border India-Pakistan border. He got to eat real Tibet food. Everything's real for him and his crew, which made his journey all the more unreal to readers. At least, this is the best travel book for any armchair travelers who secretly wish to visit the Himalaya someday..
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Michael Palin's amazing journey across the whole length of the Himalayas, beginning in Pakistan and ending in what was once known as East Pakistan, and covering on the way India, Nepal, Tibet, a small part of China, and Bhutan. What really comes through is the range of perspectives the author gains and shares with us through the journey itself, but more importantly, through the people he meets.
Isolated tribes beyond Peshawar who would seem to be living in a different era altogether, the dangerous sports they indulge in, probably a minor sport compared to the inherent dangers of their frontier life, the second highest mountain in the world that intimidates by its sheer presence, the first glimpse of a river that spawned a civilisation, the fading yet glorious remnants of Mughal architecture in Lahore, the current power that resides in Rawalpindi, the modern planned fusion architecture in Islamabad and meeting with Imran Khan all give us a peek into what makes Pakistan.
The influence of Tibet and Buddhism in Mcleodganj, a meeting with the pragmatic spiritual leader - the Dalai Lama, the beauty of Dal Lake where an aging houseboat owner tries to keep everything afloat (literally too), a sense of peace that the beauty of the place provides even while being a hotbed of violence, Ladakh, the famous roadsigns (Better Mr.Late than Late Mr.) and Thikse monastery - before he leaves for Nepal.
The chill of being present when a person is abducted by the dreaded Maoists in Nepal, spending time with a man who has scaled Everest twice! (the second time napping on the summit while his team caught up with him), a chopper ride that offers a glimpse of how civilisations have grown, realising the cultural difference in viewing death, on the banks of a river and on to Tibet.
The Everest base camp and hearing the stories of Mallory for the first time, the slow conversion of Lhasa into a state sponsored tourist attraction, while simultaneously encouraging the dominance of Chinese culture. Into China proper - a matrilineal society in Yunnan, with the face being an ex-model who found fame across the globe, Naxi music and a touch of the supernatural in Lijiang, an earthquake prone area which is trying to balance modernity and old ways of life, packaged minorities (with imported faux actors) and a village where you can keep one leg in Burma and one in China.
Nagas comfortably living as Christians. A duo traveling on a train in Digboi - one, the offspring of a sahib and a teaplanter and the other, the granddaughter of the sahib's sister. A celibate sect devoted to Vishnu with an all male Ramlila cast.
Bhutan and its unique Gross National Happiness index, where a king tries to pace the steps towards modernity in a country which is still in 'unison with the earth'.
The ship breaking industry at Chittagong that's on a slow decline, the pragmatic acceptance of bribes, the crowded Dhaka and its secular brand of Islam, a steamer ride towards the Sunderbans and a final adventure as part of filming a sunset.
These are a few of the many instances and places in a book that spans 125 days of travel. Sometimes the author comes across scenarios - places and cultures that have remained unchanged for centuries, even as the world outside moves at a dizzy pace. The diary style of writing gives you a feel of traveling with the author, the photographs helping us visualise the people and the places, and the musings helping us go beyond the actual chronicling. A very good read! -
As I mainly enjoyed the wonderful photographs in this book my rating is based on that.
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Another classic Palin adventure. Here he spends four months travelling along the Himalaya (though ending with a trip through Bangladesh to the Bay of Bengal). In one sense the journey is a bit of a cheat, in that it isn't a continuous trip but a series of trips presented as a continuous whole, but with such formidable geography (and politics), the team can be forgiven that.
As always, the writing is excellent, and the geography is inspiring, and ably captured by the photographer Basil Pao. He talks to and touches on the life of the many varied people of this fascinating area - perhaps, from my perspective, I might feel that there might be a little more focus on the geography and geology and a little less on the people, but that seems to be what most people look for in a travel book, and what Michael Palin himself concludes he will remember most from the journey. Recommended for its amazing insight into some little-known parts of the world. -
Enjoyable enough but I know I was expecting something a little heavier on some laughs from someone like Michael Palin. Probably unfair on my part. It's well written and the people met are interesting and lively. Overall a good read for the genre if a bit on the dry side at times. I will probably try another with different expectations.
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Just finished a long, cold trip through the Himalayas. Well, from my bed, mostly, and it was delightful. I never will actually trek those mountains, so I let Michael Palin do it for me.
I really enjoy both Palin's travel shows and the accompanying books. You get to see the great man repeatedly in just about every location. Still, the photos are often very good, even if he is in them. Thankfully Palin relates both the fun and frustrations of long-distance travel, but he comes about as close as any celebrity in reveal the wonders of the world to rather large audiences, and that is a great thing, and he does it in an entertaining way. So, where are we going next? -
Yet another treat from Mr. Palin! One line that beautifully sums his and most other, if not all, travel experiences - "The enjoyment of the world is immeasurably enhanced not just by meeting people who think, look, talk and dress differently from yourself, but by having to depend on them."
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Enjoing travelling, I see travel documentaries or reading travelogues as the next best thing one can do to it. This time I had decided to pick this book up along with viewing its corresponding documentary series.
In Himalaya Palin travels to parts of Pakistan and India, Nepal, Tibet, China, Bhutan and Bangladesh - in the areas that are connected or related to the Himalayan mountain range. Amongst the several places that he visits, personally I have visited only McLeod Ganj in the state of Himachal Pradesh in India, and it was an awesome experience. My personal favourite places to read in the book, were Tibet, the Yunnan province in China and Bhutan, the mountains and forests being my likeable places. :)
The documentary was much better than the reading of the book. Both having its pros and cons however, the book additionally provides minor insights on places, people or events which could not be or were not probably allowed for filming. And also to some references to other books about certain topics at times.
I will mostly not be reading Palin's other books, but will certainly view his other BBC documentaries. Might just skim through them though, or read only a few selective parts. The only reason being 'life is too short to read through all books'. :) -
I listened to this book on tape, but I think that it would have worked better as an actual book. I could have used some photographs and a map to break it up a bit. It started really slow, but I enjoyed it by the end. Although it was published in 2005, the commentary hasn't aged well. He refers to "the end of (this) Iraq war" several times. Oops!
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Stumbling upon this book was quite serendipitous. The title caught me and I was totally unaware of the author.
Having had a small experience trekking in the Himalayas I decided to explore what more the book could tell me.
Michael Palin's Himalaya is not about trekking but an account of his travel through the places along the Himalayan ranges. His journey starts from the Karakoram ranges in Pakistan, through Amritsar and Ladakh in India, to the Tibetan valleys , on way to China, Nagaland, Bhutan and finally ending at the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh. This was my first experience of a travelogue and it was as good as travelling , seeing places and meeting new people. Palin has done a wonderful job in vividly sketching the beauty of the landscapes. I would like to quote the lines from the last chapter of the book
"In the last words of the shot, I say that, despite all the wonders I have seen, the majestic scenery of half-dozen countries, the power and majesty of the highest mountain range on earth, it is the people I've met that will stick in my mind. The enjoyment of the world in immeasurably enhanced not just by meeting people who think, look, talk, and dress differently from yourself, but by having to depend on them"
Would recommend to any reader who also loves travelling.
Next up is to watch Palin's BBC documentary on the same. -
Michael Palin (of Monty Python fame) introduces the astoundingly diverse people and places along the greatest mountain range on earth, "Himalaya," in this book-companion to the BBC television production. Photos by Basil Pao lend color and form to the subjects Palin's witty and insightful narration.
Here are a few interesting facts I learned from "Himalaya":
* Himalaya is Sanskrit for "Abode of Snow."
* The Kalash in Northwest Pakistan are thought to be descendants of Alexander the Great's army.
* Indian Railways is the biggest employer on earth.
* Pagoda architecture originated in Nepal.
*Yunnan is the most ethnically diverse province in China and home to a matriarchical society.
* The head hunters of Nagaland are still stylin' even though they've found religion.
* Archery is Bhutan's national sport.
* Bangladesh has 5,000 miles of navigable waterways.
* Butter tea seems to be the drink of choice throughout the Himalaya.
I'm not sure how I feel about butter tea, but I'd surely recommend this book! -
This is a wonderful book. Perfect escapism for a fraught world.
Michael Palin’s humour and empathetic conversational style makes this a really enjoyable read.
Listened to on audiobook in bed which led to a lot of giggling and not much sleep.
Only criticism is that it’s given me itchy feet at a time when we can’t travel anywhere. -
★★★★★ (5/5)
A selection of my favourite passages from the book
• What the Sahara is to desert, the Himalaya is to mountains. Both share the same contradictory attractions, appealing and appalling, tempting and terrifying in equal, and ultimately irresistible, measure.
• The schedule was very tight, and I’m aware that these diaries are stronger on spontaneity than sober reflection.
• In short, we found a Himalaya not reticent and forbidding, but permeated by every sort of human activity.
Pakistan
• ‘Such a river of life as nowhere else exists in the world’, is how Kipling described the road that crosses the Khyber Pass.
• Why should I not be surprised that Charlton Heston was in Peshawar? The common ground is, of course, the West. The Wild West and the North-West Frontier have so much in common: proud, patriarchal societies with a marked dislike of outside interference, and strict moral codes of their own.
• As the tempo of the music accelerates, so does the speed and intensity of the movement, until both merge into a stomping, exultant crescendo, which leaves everyone exhausted, ecstatic and applauding wildly.
• Road gangs, muffled like mummies against the dust and heat, stop to watch us pass, then resume the Sisyphean task of fighting landslides with spades, shovels and wheelbarrows.
• The view from this cool pavilion out towards the Badshahi Mosque is a reminder of what makes Mughal architecture so fine. It’s all about balance and symmetry. Towers, domes, minarets, columns and cupolas, some in red stone, some in white marble, are all gracefully harmonized.
• They are followed by a squad of 12 more Rangers, who emerge with a splendid mixture of panache, aggression and bad acting that has the crowd roaring. Speeding, slowing, high kicking, strutting, stamping, grimacing, leering and hissing with a finely honed ferocity, they create the impression of caged beasts ready at any moment to bite their opponents’ heads off.
India
• The bracing, or exhausting, anarchy of Indian streets begins as soon as we leave the hotel. Cars veer out of side roads without stopping, lame dogs hop gamely across your bows, bicycles and buses appear from nowhere and blasts of the horn mingle with blasts from exhausts.
• There is something infectious about his optimism, an optimism which comes from confronting rather than avoiding the unacceptable and acknowledging, understanding and demystifying it.
• The Vice-Regal Lodge is an extraordinary edifice. Built at the top of a hill and the peak of Victorian self-confidence, it is authority made manifest, superiority set in stone.
• Modesty and earnestness has replaced display and grandeur. Entertainment has given way to enlightenment. This bastion of British certainty has become a place of enquiry, curiosity and debate. Three very Indian preoccupations.
• More controversially, they’re to take 2000 cows out of circulation as well. Not, I notice, to improve road safety, but, so they say, to curb the illegal milk trade.
• Outside the window prayer flags are tied to nests of satellite dishes. One sending out messages, the other receiving them.
• The Tibetans in exile are skilful operators and I admire the tenacity and persistence with which they court world opinion,
• Poverty is corrosive, but it’s always worse when it is found side by side with wealth.
• Flowers have been planted around the place, perhaps to represent on earth the gardens the martyrs are promised in heaven.
• I’m back among mountain people - patient, taciturn and politely wary of outsiders. Masters of survival.
Nepal
• Although it is dimly lit and hard to distinguish individual buildings, the complex of streets and squares has an extraordinary atmosphere. I’m reminded of walking at night in St Petersburg or Rome. There is a theatrical unreality to the place. Astonishing buildings, unlike anything I’ve seen before, are silhouetted against the night sky. Towering pagodas with long wide-eaved roofs, stacked one above the other, are topped with Hapsburg-like spires. Deep balconies cantilever out on long poles, the lintels and sills of the windows are thick timber beams. A fairy-tale kind of architecture, the more magical for being first encountered at night.
• Dopali is like something in a dream, a vision of delicious drowsiness and lethargy sent to subvert the purposeful and debilitate the dedicated.
• Once the helicopter has delivered us we’re left in deep and almost sensuous silence, hemmed in by the steep and thickly wooded walls of a valley, one side in brilliant sunshine, the other in deep, impenetrable shade.
• As I watch their rubber sandals nimbly negotiate the rocks ahead of me I’m ashamed to think how long I spent deciding which kind of boots to wear. And some of them are carrying 40 kilograms in their wicker backpacks.
• We set out at half-past seven, climbing up steep stone staircases through a tangle of semi-tropical woodland, with wispy lengths of Spanish moss trailing from the branches of the trees like a trail of feather boas. When we emerge from the trees the sunshine is still way up in the mountain tops but the air is cool and fresh.
• I stubbornly resist offers from Nawang and Wongchu to carry my backpack for me. It’s become a matter of pride for me to carry it, a defiant attempt to show that there is still something I can do for myself.
• This is sublime mountain scenery. Only Concordia in Pakistan, on the threshold of K2, reduced me to the same sense of inarticulate wonder.
• The sun is still out of reach, setting fire to the crests of the mountains, but still a long way from delivering us from this bitter morning chill. We fall to reminiscing about the good old days in the heart of the Sahara desert.
• I wonder if we aren’t all in danger of falling into the romantic delusion that by staring at these great massifs of rock and ice we achieve some form of communication with them, as if something so forbiddingly colossal must somehow be friendly.
• Day Forty Four : Kathmandu We arrived here last night from Delhi on the penultimate night of Dasain, a big Nepali festival, and though badly in need of some rest and recuperation after our Indian adventure, the final day’s celebrations cannot be missed.
• ‘It’s not that the Maoists are terribly brilliant or strong, just that successive governments have been weak and fractious and corrupt, and they (the Maoists) have tapped into that bedrock of neglect and apathy and frustration in the people. They’ve grown so fast precisely because everything else has been in such disarray.’
• I know nothing about these people yet, in this brief ceremony, I feel a wave of empathy, not just for them, but for loss, for the end of a life. I come from somewhere where death is kept private, almost as if it’s an embarrassment. We send our loved ones away hidden in a box, into a hidden fire. We don’t even press the button that sends the coffin sliding into that fire. It’s all at arm’s length. Here in Pashupatinath it’s very much hands on. The reality of death, the fact of death, is confronted, not avoided.
• With the SARS epidemic so recently over, I first have to fill in a Quarantine Form. I then take it to a booth where a man in a white coat checks it, produces a gun, points it right between my eyes and pulls the trigger. He then peers at the gun, notes down my temperature and motions me into China.
• In every country we’ve been so far private cleanliness and public squalor seem to quite happily co-exist and I’ve never really been able to work out why.
Tibet
• I can find no satisfactory explanation for the nocturnal activity other than that Xangmu is a frontier town and frontier towns have a life of their own.
• Though perfectly comfortable in my congenial little room, sleep was light and fleeting and broken by twinges of headache and nausea. The zero temperatures with which Mr Tse Xiu threatened us didn’t materialize and when I should have been sleeping I was engaged in an energy-consuming nocturnal striptease, peeling off the various layers of clothing I’d gone to bed in and dropping them out of my sleeping bag one by one.
• Many years ago, encountering similarly appalling conditions in a boat on Lake Tanganyika, I took Imodium to prevent me having to go to the toilet ever again. As I squat in this howling tempest three miles up in the sky, I think cyanide might be the better option.
• Their complexions, skin textures, their whole physiognomy is a reflection of the life they lead. Coloured by the wind and rain, stunted by the bitter cold, their features sculpted in a craggy resemblance to the weird and wonderful landscape around them, they’re elemental figures, created by and in the likeness of the mountains.
• later in the day we climb up to Sera, one of the great monasteries of Lhasa, to witness an activity that would probably be classed as highly eccentric in any religion other than Buddhism. Around 100 young monks gather beneath the trees of a shady, walled garden to take part in ritual arguing, a sort of verbal martial art. The idea is that one of a group has to stand and defend a proposition, which can be as provocative as possible (Migmar says he heard one monk arguing that there is no such thing as water) and the sitting monks must debate with him.
• The hundreds, no, probably thousands of pilgrims who have defied the elements to come here and worship a lake, are largely poor, rural people. I don’t know quite what to make of their tenacious dedication. My rational, enlightened, Western self recoils from the tackiness of it all, the parade of plodding, vacant faces. Another, more instinctual side of me is fascinated by and even a little envious of the deep belief that can bring them all this way and turn this remote and unforgiving lakeshore into a sanctuary.
• Salty tea is poured for me from a big, blackened kettle, and in lieu of sugar, a rarity on the plateau, Sonam adds a small slab of butter, which liquefies into a greasy scum across the top. It tastes, well, not bad, just different. As someone wisely said, if they called it soup rather than tea we’d have no trouble drinking it at all.
Yunnan, China
• When I stop on a narrow ledge to look around me, I find myself having to plant my feet very securely, for it feels as if the soaring vertical walls across the gorge are exerting some magnetic force, determined to tear me from my flimsy ledge.
• The interesting thing about Namu is that she bothered to come back to Lugu Lake at all. Though she calls herself, wryly, ‘a five-star gypsy’, the claustrophobic world that drove her away still seems to have a hold on her.
• There’s a cockerel somewhere close by that wakes me every morning, long before it’s light. Today I time its first call at 3.29. To make matters worse, it crows only on one note, a monotone cry like someone pretending to be a ghost.
• With its brilliant white scarf of snow, this jagged diadem of ice and snow effortlessly dominates the northwestern horizon as we enter the village of Baisha.
• Tradition dictates that ancient scriptures are only communicated to males, and then not until the Dongba who communicates them is over 75 years old. So the chicken’s fate is currently in the hands of a girl who can’t know what to do, and a boy who won’t know what to do for another ten years.
Nagaland and Assam
• The problem is that the Naga tribes remain essentially a trans-border people who don’t fit neatly into any of the boxes that the politicians have created for them.
• I look forward to my Scotch at sunset but I know that if I pour it myself, jobs might be at stake. So servility is perpetuated.
• As soon as the bank is within leaping distance, half the roof-class passengers fling themselves off and race up the hill to the bus. The bus driver, clearly enjoying his moment of power, sounds the horn again and again, prompting more and more people to death-defying leaps.
• It seems a place of rare and genuine happiness, where the hardest disciplines are artistic rather than religious and the goals are more concerned with fulfilment than denial.
• But it’s only when I give him a really good whack that he appears to enter elephant heaven, rolling his eyes, stretching out his legs and emitting an infinitely appreciative rumble. The sound of a contented elephant is a wonderful thing, and I’m amazed that this battleship-grey hide, and these hard, immemorially ancient flanks can be as sensitive as a cat’s chin.
Bhutan
• Its history is not to be found on display in tourist-friendly heritage parks, but on the street and in the countryside, as a part of everyday life.
• He makes no apologies for enjoying the fast life, but now, at the age of 60, he’s having to move into the middle lane as his body registers the toll of many happily misspent years.
• They stand about three feet tall (1m) and look to me like a cross between a goose and a heron, with slender, pale grey bodies, black tails and, of course, black necks. The only splash of colour is a tiny red cap. They aren’t arrestingly beautiful by any means, and I suppose I’m a little disappointed that rare doesn’t necessarily mean resplendent.
• ‘The Buddhist version of poverty is a situation where you have nothing to contribute.’
• ‘I love Bhutan. Bhutan is so relaxed and peaceful.’ ‘Everyone says that.’ She nods and shrugs. ‘But there’s nothing else to say about Bhutan.’
• I must really have been walked out yesterday, the result being a long, deep, wonderfully restorative night’s sleep. Trekking beats any sleeping pill.
Bangladesh
• The White House has some grace and charm but it also has a fatal inertia, as if it’s being slowly strangled by the rich profusion of tropical flowers and shrubs that spill over onto it, mounting the walls and climbing over the balustrades.
• Our driver hurtles along, firing off blasts of the horn at anyone and anything that moves. Basil notices that the driver’s thumb is in such continuous use that it’s worn a hole through the plastic on the steering column.
• Breakfast is a disappointingly routine affair, enlivened only by discovering that my bottle of ‘Mum’ mineral water is proudly labelled ‘Official Drink For the 10th Asian Conference on Diarrhoeal Diseases’.
• The enjoyment of the world is immeasurably enhanced not just by meeting people who think, look, talk and dress differently from yourself, but by having to depend on them. -
Diary Observations of a TV travel show.
I had been a little undernourished by the book on the ship, "Erebus" that this author wrote and was very surprised to find this book somewhat different. It helped that it was a hardback, had fantastic photography with excellent presentation and the narrative flowed well.
There was plenty of detail and interaction with the local people despite the presence of official minders and I got a real flavour of the people who inhabit this part of the world. Politics was discussed and the history of the individual states visited which was enlightening, particularly that of Pakistan, Kashmir and Bangladesh. In fact, I found it more illuminating than a couple of recent books I have read on the subcontinent recently. And, of course, the chapter on Bhutan was riveting! (It's on my bucket list!) Tibet's chapter clearly catalogued the changes wrought by Han Chinese colonialism and had not been apparently manicured by the censor.
Whilst the tone of his narrative is chatty and identical to his presentation, it never feels disrespectful or inappropriate.
Definitely worth 4.5*, rounded up to 5 as the presentation of the hardback was spectacular. -
"Buddhism is a very steep religion."
This type of trenchent observation is what makes Michael Palin's travels a genuine joy to behold.
Having gone "Around the World in 80 Days", travelled "Full Circle" and traipsed across the Sahara. Michael Palin and his indefatigable BBC crew elected to visit the high peaks of the Himalaya. Covering 1800 miles, from Afghanistan to the China, the Himalaya is the highest mountain range in the world encompassing the top 14 tallest mountains in the world and some 30 peaks higher than 25,000 feet.
Palin and his crew delve into the peaks of K2 and Everest, the mysteries of Lhasa, Nagaland, Nepal, Kashmir, Tibet as well as the fringes of the range in Afghanistan and the Khyber Pass, wandering pell-mell in a 3,000 mile journey that took them the better part of 6 months. Among other areas they trace the major river systems down into India (Ganges), Bangladesh (Brahmaputra) and China (Yangtze), exploring the peoples and the politics that permeate the region. Palin brings his extraordinary good humor, patience and off-beat charm to their travels, whether it is chatting with the Dalai Lama in exile, or watching a cricket match in the high peaks of Nagaland.
One of the most enjoyable elements of Palin's travels is the sheer joy of the act of travel that is clearly evident in his work. The other key element is his focus less on history, geography and poltiics and more on the people that live in the region and their day-to-day lives. He makes deliberate efforts to avoid the usual meetings with authority figures, concentrating instead on the everyday encounters of life and the travails of survival in the high ranges.
In short, Himalaya is fun, effortless read that really does make a reader want to walk a mile in Palin's shoes, or perhaps just alongside him on one of his wayward treks. -
Everyone knows by now that I really enjoy Michael Palin’s travel diaries of his TV series (even though I have read more of the books rather than watch the series). Himalaya has spent some time on the bestseller list and it’s easy to see why. Palin and crew cover areas that the average person would be unlikely to visit and give you a warts and all experience, including what it feels like to have altitude sickness and meet the Dalai Lama.
I haven’t seen the TV series of this one, but I bet it’s majestic. The pictures in my copy covered spectacular scenery, as well as scenes from a different lifestyle (eg. catching fish and putting them down the front of your shirt). Once again, Palin’s style of writing is easy to read and easily transports you from your comfy chair to Nepal, Pakistan or Mt Everest. He is honest about when he’s not really liking something (like a bad cold going up to Everest) and truly delightful when he enjoys the experience.
I think I’m fairly unlikely to visit any of the areas Palin visited any time soon (my travel desires revolve around Europe, south east Asia and North America at present) but at least I can sound intelligent about the area thanks to Michael!
Read it if: you’re an armchair travel or are saving for your next trip. It’s not full of Monty Python references (sadly). -
I started and completed this wonderful travelogue while on a trip to Puri. Nothing could be more contrasting to one another. The one I was visiting was by the sea, and the one I was reading about was on the mountains. needless to say, I enjoyed both.
The book starts off in Pakistan, and there in a snap by the Khyber Pass, there is a road which is called the Grand Trunk Road. Now, that road runs from Peshawar via Khyber and guess what it also runs in front of my house right up to Kolkata. How fanciful it may seem, this made me realize that if I start walking northwards, I might reach the spot where Palin took the snap. That would be a nice way to spend the remainder of my life.
But, seriously I loved reading the book. Palin makes us ;laugh, unlike some other travel writers never complains too loudly. His descriptions paints pictures for us. What more can a reader ask for?? He gets to travel over 6 countries(including Tibet) and see(via reading) the wonderful sights. Surely one of the best trips I had in recent times. -
The countries/regions of the Himalayas are explored by the BBC, lead by Michael Palin.
The journey involves casual interviews with high profile
people from the Himalaya including the Dalai Lama, Prime Ministers and Royalty. Many more shared experiences with new friends met along the way.
The conversations are mature, speculative and well balanced and gives the reader a fairly unbiased insight into some of the views of the days’ issues such as religion, gender equality, corruption, poverty and much more.
I’m a geography fanatic and I enjoyed learning more about these roads less traveled. I enjoyed reading about Bhutan and Bangladesh most although all were very interesting.
Countries/regions covered include: Pakistan, India, Nepal, Tibet, China, Nagaland, Assam, Bhutan and Bangladesh. Brief friendly encounter with Myanmar neighbours.
I would recommend this to anyone who likes travel stories and mountainous locations. I would read this book again. -
This is the kind of book that you feel bad about finishing. Michael Palin takes you on a wonderful journey through the lands that owe a lot to the mighty Himalayas.
The book written as the pages of Michael's diaries is a detailed yet fun narrative of the life in this region.
It is a tale simply told with wit, humor and sensitivity.
As I devoured the book, I felt like I was walking through the North-west frontier province, shivering in a tent on the snow capped mountains, wolfing down exotic meals and even shuddering with disgust at the worst toilet ever. An inclusive narrative, very seldom do you feel that Palin does not feel for and empathize with the communities he encounters.
A must-read for anyone looking for some good armchair travel. -
This was easy to pick up and put down with anecdotal entries exploring the Himalayan mountain range from India to China. An eye-opener into various cultural beliefs, religion and tradition, sporting competitions, interesting food and the affects of high altitude.
It is funny to think Michael Palin as the joker in Monty Python turned eloquent travel journalist. I’ve never seen the BBC series but I’m sure they would be worth a watch as these dry pages are so full of life. Palin isn’t just an observer; he gets stuck in and even into milking a dri (female yak) or splashing about with elephants.
I’m on my way to Kathmandu today so I look forward to having my own experiences, meeting new people and enjoying the sheer majesty and tranquility of the Annapurna Base Camp Trail. -
What a refreshing book to read during a heat wave. Most of the time we are in the high mountains of the Himalayas, getting to know the people that live there and how they are coping with tourism massification even in the high peaks of the world. What they gain and what they loose.
Michael Palin has some good humour while travelling, that is embedded in his writing, and even when the places he stays in are less than luxurious, to put it mildly, he never complaints and always portrays things in a positive spin.
I really recommend this book to everyone who wishes to see what the Himalayas have to offer other than the Everest, and to all those who love to travel. -
Another great travelogue from Palin. Lots of detail in this book in the same format as he started back in Around the Word in 80 Days. As he has gone on the detail, both observational and historical, have increased and the books are better for that. Always easy to read and Palin is certainly a great guide. You know what you are going to get with the books. This is not extreme adventure by any stretch but as I will probably never get to go to any of these places it is the next best thing.
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Fantastic travelogue (but then we can always expect that from Mr Palin) about one of the world's most picturesque and stunningly beautiful - but also harsh and unforgiving - natural sights. A mere description of the range would have been enough to earn this the highest laurels but when teamed with the witty but incisive observations (and the irreverent asides) of the author, it makes it seems that one is reading a descriptive letter sent by a close family member or friend...
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Interesting and insightful view of the countries and their people bordering the Himalayas. Michael Palin brings his humour and quirky comments to lighten this book and his colourful descriptions bring depth and a greater understanding and knowledge of various regions, religions and cultures. Very enjoyable!
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After the disappointment I had in reading Pole to Pole, I took to Himalya quite skeptically, but thank goodness Palin is back on form with his writings. The descriptions he gives of the places visited in the series are amazing and you can feel yourself being transported there. This book has it all, adventure, comedy, tragedy. A real must for travel lovers out there.
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I found this book to be kinda slow and boring. I listened to it on audiobook and found myself constantly daydreaming and the story continuously running together. There were a few interesting parts to the book, but ultimately, I was unimpressed.
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I bought this in Nepal a year and a half ago and never got around to reading it. I love Michael Palin's BBC travelogues and appreciated his behind-the-scenes commentary. I think it's best not as a stand-alone book but as an accompaniment to the series.
